The Wolves won their fifth straight sectional title and their fourth regional title in five seasons, a run that began with back-to-back state runner-up finishes in 2015 and 2016. They won the Porter County Conference Tournament championship for the fifth time in six seasons.

Boone Grove’s Kellie Marcheschi pitches against Munster during a game on Wednesday, May 15, 2019. (Kyle Telechan / Post-Tribune)

Marcheschi led the way. She went 22-4 with a 1.04 ERA and 272 strikeouts, and she hit .542 with nine home runs and 43 RBIs.

Third-year starters Pate and senior shortstop Haley Ferguson had been tasked with spearheading Boone Grove’s efforts to continue its stretch of success.

“This year was their turn to lead the pack,” coach Ron Saunders said.

Then the Indiana High School Athletic Association canceled the spring season on April 2.

“I was in my sixth-hour class when I first heard the news, and I started crying in class,” Pate said. “To play three years and have your last year be taken away, it sucks. I’ve started to accept it more, but it’s still tough.”

The Wolves’ roster included two other seniors: outfielder Nicole Brown and infielder Jamie Murphy. Brown was slated to start for the first time — “her chance to shine a little bit,” Saunders said — and Murphy was returning after missing last season for personal reasons.

“She came to me in February and asked if she’d be allowed to come back, and I said ‘Of course,’ ” Saunders said of Murphy. “She’s a good kid. She was coming to open gyms, doing the conditioning. She was ready to go, and now there’s no such thing.

“I just feel terrible for the seniors.”

Boone Grove’s roster included 10 sophomores. Catcher Kailyn Coates, second baseman Erica Hoffman and outfielder Caitlin Dziewicki all started as freshmen. Sophomore Skyler Katschke, as well as sophomore Jamie Botma, had been tabbed to pitch and showed promise.

“Their thought was, ‘What are you talking about? We’re just as good as before,’ ” Saunders said. “They weren’t backing down from anybody. That was the sophomores’ attitude, and you hope it would’ve carried over.”

Boone Grove’s Erica Hoffman drops a bunt during a game against Kankakee Valley on Tuesday, April 16, 2019. (Kyle Telechan / Post-Tribune)

Pate doesn’t expect to play again; she plans to attend Purdue. She still has been playing catch and hitting with her father George and her sister Lindsey, a 2017 Boone Grove graduate.

Pate has kept the competitive juices flowing by learning to play poker from her father. They’ve had some pretty intense games, including with her mother Susie.

She’d prefer to be representing Boone Grove on the field, as would Saunders.

“It’s just frustrating,” Saunders said. “This is the time of year you work all day long and then do softball for four hours, and I really miss it.

“I was looking forward to this season, and so were the kids, to see what we could do without a so-called superstar. We really were going to see what kind of character we had. Were we going to come together, or were we not going to be the same team? I have no doubt we would’ve competed with everyone we played.”